Gift giving made easy with DIY ideas

For students with a tight budget or looking to give creatively this Christmas, do-it-yourself gifts have become a popular option.

Giving hand crafted gifts is becoming more popular

Vicki Gillis is the owner of Urban Source, an alternative crafts store on Main Street that collects discarded items from local industries that otherwise would have gone into a landfill. She said that her store keeps getting busier every year around the holiday season with DIY Christmas crafters.

“I feel like there is such a big DIY movement out there,” she said. “Making things from scratch are really so much more popular than they used to be.”

Gillis said reducing waste and using recycled items can also be a factor for some crafters.

“I think people are more environmentally aware and waste-aware,” she said.

Workshops are being offered to teach the technique of DIY’ing

Some Vancouver artisans are sharing their expertise around the holiday season by offering workshops on Christmas crafts and gifts. Lili Nedved is the owner of Spool of Thread, a sewing lounge in Mount Pleasant. While she offers workshops year round, she said a lot of people come in to make heartfelt Christmas gifts this time of year.

DIY holiday gifts by using crafty items. Photo by Alyse Kotyk.

“The thing that you make might be more straight forward than something you can pick up in a shop,” she said. “But the person that will receive it will put more appreciation towards that gift because they know there was a lot of time and energy and love that went into making it.”

Subrina Pratt, a general arts student at Langara, said that she doesn’t typically make Christmas gifts.

“It just takes up a lot of time,” she said.

However, Daniela Kuri, another Langara student, said she really enjoys making gifts for the holidays.

“It’s a lot cheaper, I think and it gives more significance,” she said. “For me, if someone made me a gift it would be a lot more memorable.”